


Harurin

by AcceleOrder



Category: Free!
Genre: Angst, M/M, harurin - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-30
Updated: 2014-10-30
Packaged: 2018-02-23 05:53:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2536586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AcceleOrder/pseuds/AcceleOrder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inspired by the poem "But You Didn't", but since I can't draw, here's a series of angst of different OTPs in words adapted from the poem...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Harurin

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [But You Didn't](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/80711) by Merrill Glass. 



> _Dear Haruka,_
> 
>  
> 
> _Hey, do you still remember the time when I got so fed up of eating mackerel? Because you were just so persistent in it, day after day... In truth, I was actually jealous of it. It seemed as though you actually think more highly of mackerel than me, your boyfriend! So, I ended up cooking the hot pot you hated so much for dinner that night. I was so certain you'd get mad at me... But you didn't._

The pen's ink was making a thick smudge on the paper. Rin hurriedly lifted the tip, and gave a small smile at how the spread of it resembled the outline of a mackerel.

> _Also, do you remember the day when I left you alone for three hours in Sydney even though it was only your second time there? I was so childish; to think it was over a reason like that!_

Rin's brows furrowed. He tried to recall the exact reason why they had fought that day, but he couldn't. All he could remember was...

> _I thought you would've gone back yourself, but you didn't._

The words came naturally, swiftly, the ink flowing as though one was skiing on ice.

> _Remember the day I dragged you to the beach because I was so certain I could beat you in a swim race? You told me it'd rain, and it did. In the end, both of us got sick after that._

The boy chuckled a little upon remembering. He was so nervous then; they shared a hotel room nearby, one room because there were tourists as well. It was way before they begun living together, before Rin was fully aware of his own feelings.

> _I thought you'd definitely tell me "I told you so", like you always did, but you didn't._
> 
> _Still remember the time we fought in the water? I was so stubborn and ignored the injury from another competition, and almost drowned us both. I thought you'd kill me for that, but you didn't._
> 
> _Yes..._

Rin bit on his lower lip, not sure what his letter was becoming. It was supposed to be one filled of joy and laughter, something he'd be able to look back at and laugh in the future. Instead, things like...

> _There were a lot of things you didn't do, Haru, but you always gave in to me. You loved me; we loved each other._  

The man smiled, softly fiddling with a ring on his left ring finger. "HARU'S" was carved on it, a badly done work by Haruka at the shop years ago. Haru's ring, with "RIN'S" carved on it, was tied to a chain and worn around Rin's neck.

> _I only realised how much you truly meant to me too late. I wanted to make it up to you after our competition in Beijing, after we returned, after we're back to our two-man world._

The handwriting was nearly illegible by then, messy scribbles in ink on a clear A5 sheet paper. The pen was pressed hard against the paper, forming an ugly blotch on the paper.

> _...But you didn't._

Rin crushed the paper out of instinct, tears rolling down his cheeks and onto the paper. Haruka had been gone for nearly 15 years now, and it was Rin's fault. And here he was, back in their home in Japan, but he was alone.

Haruka had promised Rin a future, but that future no longer existed. The memories came again, painful, deep, scarring Rin in whichever part of his heart still able.

_"Go, Rin!"_

_"Don't be a fool, Haru! I won't..."_

_"GO!"_

_......_

Rin choked on his breath and took large gulps of oxygen. Each time he's home and not overseas competing, these memories haunt him. Until today, he still wished it was a dream. That that storm hadn't occurred during that trip in Beijing, that he wasn't an idiot for wanting to go a swim, that Haruka sacrificed himself to lure that shark away...

Rin uncrumpled the paper and folded it neatly a second time, placing it in an envelope decorated with pictures of mackerel. He slipped off his ring and into the envelope and slid it tight. Into a drawer locked and keys thrown away, an envelope titled "But You Didn't" and addressed to the man _Nanase Haruka_ , only found when a fire burnt the house down, sparing only that and a photo of the two together in high school.

**Author's Note:**

> This was not what I had in mind. Each stanza was supposed to a chapter of its own. Hah, expect me to rewrite this sometime.


End file.
